# Ack! Green spots!!



## z0diac (May 18, 2010)

I was reading about a beetle outbreak, reading that above 70F the eggs can hatch, so just wanted to go through my humi and give it a thorough check since my room temp is about 72-73F. No noticeable creepy crawlers, but I did notice some small green patches on my Romeo & Julietta tubo no.3 :

Green dot around middle of picture:



Patches around the veiny areas:

  

I was scared it was mod due to my humi being too moist (it's usually between 70-74%) but am HOPING it's just some minor wrapper leaf damage, which apparently is harmless and does not affect the cigar's flavor either.

Is *all* cigar mold white? From what I've read, most is, but some pages state that blue/green dots can be the very bad kind of mold.


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## TonyBrooklyn (Jan 28, 2010)

Very common with Cuban Cigars no worries mate.:smoke2:


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## BTcigars (Jun 30, 2009)

I believe those are water spots. Remember that mold is fury and I hope you never have to find that out first hand.


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## z0diac (May 18, 2010)

TonyBrooklyn said:


> Very common with Cuban Cigars no worries mate.:smoke2:





BTcigars said:


> I believe those are water spots. Remember that mold is fury and I hope you never have to find that out first hand.


Thanks guys! I just started out my collection and would have hated for some nasty mold/fungi to have spread and ruined it all.

Now I'm just waiting for my first beetle outbreak layball:


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## Mante (Dec 25, 2009)

I agree with the others Jake, just water spots. No problems there. I wouldnt be smoking those at 72% though unless you drybox. Enjoy. :smoke2:


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## salmonfly (Nov 11, 2009)

BTcigars said:


> I believe those are water spots. Remember that mold is fury and I hope you never have to find that out first hand.


+1 on the waterspots, Most of my CC's have them and I have a perfect 65/65.
Relaxs and enjoy Bro!!


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## eljimmy (Jun 27, 2009)

Copied this from somewhere.

Nearly all the wrapper anomalies that aren’t attributable to mold or plume are caused by water appearing at inopportune times on the leaf. Most leaves that are damaged in this way never make it to the roller’s table, but occasionally they do. Often the resulting cigars are sold as seconds. Or Havanas.

Controlling moisture is essential. If a curing barn is too humid, there is a danger that the tobacco leaf will become mottled or will rot before drying. On the other hand, overly dry air inhibits the chemical transformations that are necessary for the tobacco to dry properly, leaving green traces of cholorophyll on the leaf. For these reasons, the veguero must open or close the casa’s doors accordingly, carefully maintaining a constant temperature and relative humidity inside.²



Green patches caused by imperfect curing are most commonly found on the delicate claro shade wrappers of Cuba and the Connecticut River Valley. They’re sometimes called “frog eyes” (not to be confused with the more damaging tobacco fungus called “frog-eye leafspot.”) They usually show up as small, relatively minor blemishes like those pictured here. They are clearly discolorations and not growths like mold.

It isn’t clear to me exactly what causes these green spots, but it appears that excess moisture at some point in the process causes patches or streaks in the leaf to resist curing.

“The rain prevented the tobacco from maturing the way it should,” says David Perez (of ASP in Ecuador.) “We had a lot of green spots, a lot less yield per acre…”

Tobacco grown during the El Niño years is easy to spot. Some is subtly marred, with a few green spots on the wrapper known as frog eyes. These spots usually aren’t detectable in the fields, but the eyes blossom in the curing barn as the moisture is drawn from the tobacco.³

While there doesn’t appear to be a singular cause of green spots, the important thing is that they really are harmless. They detract from the overall appearance of the wrapper, but they don’t affect the flavor or burning quality of an otherwise perfect cigar.


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## guitar7272 (Sep 24, 2008)

eljimmy said:


> Copied this from somewhere.


Interesting read - thanks for posting it.


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## z0diac (May 18, 2010)

eljimmy said:


> Nearly all the wrapper anomalies that aren't attributable to mold or plume are caused by water appearing at inopportune times on the leaf. Most leaves that are damaged in this way never make it to the roller's table, but occasionally they do. *Often the resulting cigars are sold as seconds. Or Havanas.*


Yes I read this text on the original page when was doing research, but remember wondering about that last part.

So the sub-par 'reject' cigars are labeled as "Havanas" ?

Seems weird they'd use Cuba's main city name as a name for a cigar showing flaws.


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## Scott W. (Jul 10, 2008)

z0diac said:


> Thanks guys! I just started out my collection and would have hated for some nasty mold/fungi to have spread and ruined it all.
> 
> *Now I'm just waiting for my first beetle outbreak layball:*




If you are that worried, freeze everything and return them to the humi afterwards (there is a thread in here on how to properly do it).


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## z0diac (May 18, 2010)

scottw said:


> [/B]
> 
> If you are that worried, freeze everything and return them to the humi afterward (there is a thread in here on how to properly do it).


I'll have to check that out. I was always scared that freezing them would cause them to shrink too fast and cause cracks. Not to mention damage the oils. I was told the same about coffee - never keep it in the freezer because it will cause the oils to separate from the solid material, affecting the taste.

Usually freezing anything cause the water molecules to crystalize and separate and it's never the same after. Like freezing fresh tomatoes. They turn into little water bags after they're thawed.

I supposed this could all be minimized by freezing and thawing over a very gradual process.


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## rus_bro (Jun 18, 2010)

its ALLL flavor..


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